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Tag: Adamawa State

  • Why I attempted to rape a five-year-old girl, man tells court

    A middle-aged man residing in Yola, Adamawa State, has pleaded guilty to a charge of an attempt to defile a five-year-old girl.

    Identified as Umaru Bello of Wurro-Chekke, the man is facing a one-count charge of ‘Attempt to commit an offence to rape,’ at the Upper Area Court 3, Yola.

    He told the court on Wednesday that it was true that he attempted to rape the minor.

    “I took her to the bush with intention to have carnal knowledge of her but I changed my mind and did not go ahead with it,” he said.

    Read Also: Alleged fraud: Court sends pastor to prison

    He pleaded for leniency over the attempt to defile the girl,which according to a first information report (FIR) read to the court, occurred on April 24, 2019.

    The case is being prosecuted by the Nigeria Police against the suspect.

    The suspect was returned to prison custody as the presiding Judge, Hon Umaru Isah, adjourned commencement of hearing of the case to next Wednesday, May 15.

  • Police ban use of motorcycles in Adamawa

    The Adamawa State Command of the Nigeria Police has banned the use of motorcycles in all the 21 local government areas of the state.

    The command said in a press statement Tuesday morning that the ban was informed by rising crime rate across the state.

    The statement which was signed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state, SP Othman Abubakar, said, “This has become necessary because of the incessant use of such motorcycles in the commission of heinous crimes such as kidnapping, armed banditry, communal clashes and other criminal activities in the state.”

    The statement added that the police would by the announcement of the ban go all out on aggressive patrol and arrest of defaulters.

    Read Also: Gunmen raid Adamawa villages, kill five

    The ban on motorcycles, it could be recalled, had long been in place but was adhered to mostly in the state capital, Yola, especially in the city centre, while it was largely ignored in the rest of the state.

    A pointer to how motorcycles are used by some people to commit crime in the state was a recent attack on Madagali LGA, in the northern fringe of the state, by Boko Haram insurgents who, witnesses said, rode in on motorcycles, killed some people, and made away with valuable belongings of residents.

    The fresh ban on motorcycles leaves the state with commercial tricycles, otherwise called Keke NAPEP, which are frequently used, especially in the state capital, Yola, by young criminal elements called Shilla Boys to rob, rape and even abduct unsuspecting passengers.

    While the outgoing government under Sen Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow recently expressed a plan to register operators of Keke NAPEP for close monitoring, the incoming government, to be headed by governor-elect Umaru Fintiri, was in the weekend reported to be considering an amnesty programme for members of the gang who would be expected to renounce their membership.

     

  • Gunmen raid Adamawa villages, kill five

    Gunmen said to be herders have attacked three communities in Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State, killing five people.

    Our correspondent learnt that the attackers carried out their act in Murposa, Bankam and Wuro Hausa areas of Girei, an LGA next to metropolitan Yola North, claiming the five human lives in the early hours of Thursday.

    Read Also: Gunmen abduct five-day-old baby, police detain father

    The five identified to be victims of the attack included Baba Zibion, said to have been unable to run as he had been suffering from a leg problem, as well as Baba Elnathan, who also could not escape because he was a blind man.

    The other three victims were identified as a youth known as Ethan from Tambo Jimoh and his two friends from Mboi who were said to have been in one of the affected villages for timber work.

    Witnesses said many other people sustained injuries from the attacks.

    The Adamawa State Police Command confirmed the attacks through its Public Relations Officer, DSP Othman Abubakar, who said the situation had been brought under control.

  • Boko Haram invades Adamawa village, kills 26

    Twenty-six people have been feared killed and several others critically injured following a Boko Haram attack on a village in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

    Our correspondent gathered on Tuesday that the insurgents, riding motorcycles, stormed the Kudakaya village in large numbers around 7pm on Monday.

    A local vigilante member said, “Many victims fell to the attack. I saw corpses of 26 people and there are several others that were critically injured and taken to hospital.”

    A former chairman of the Madagali LGA, Abawu Ularamu, supported the anonymous vigilante member’s account, and added, “They (Boko Haram) burnt several shops and many homes. They also stole food items. As I am talking to you now, we are living in an atmosphere of despair and agony for this attack. Over 20 people were killed while many were injured and rushed to hospital.”

    Read Also: Air Force strikes Boko Haram in Sambisa forest

    He said the insurgents must have arrived the community from Sambisa, a forest in neighboring Borno State dreaded for being a hideout for Boko Haram despite its supposedly having been cleared of the insurgents by soldiers.

    ‘’There is no doubt the attackers came from Sambisa. We experience such periodic attacks from Boko Haram, who usually look for food. They are not far from us. Any slight opportunity, they may strike again,” he said.

    The Adamawa State Police Public Relations Officer, Othman Abubakar, confirmed the attack. “Yes, I was briefed that members of the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents have attacked the village.”

    Othman however could not confirm the casualty figure. He merely said, “I am yet to get the casualty figure but security operatives were deployed and are on the top of the situation.’’

    Madagali has since just before the March/April elections been frequently attacked by Boko Haram. It shares the bad luck of being haunted by the insurgents with nearby Michika LGA. Together, they are the two LGAs in Adamawa State that have been attacked by Boko Haram a number of times in the last couple of months.

  • Gunmen attack Adamawa community, kill 4

    A husband and wife and their two granddaughters have been killed in an attack on Bolon, a town in Demsa Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

    Witnesses said on Thursday evening that the armed killers descended on the town about 10 pm on Wednesday, shooting and burning down houses.

    The village head of the affected town, Robinson Filgona, said: “Over one hundred households in my community are now homeless because their houses have been burnt down.

    “Our food stuffs have also been burnt to ashes just like that. If you go round town now, you will see several of our houses are still on fire.”

    The village head added: “At about 10 pm, the Fulani militants descended on our community heavily armed and started shooting at everyone they could see.

    “We quickly mobilised to defend our lives and property but all we have are just our local bows and arrows, so they overpowered us. In fact, it is because of the resistance we mounted that you still see some few houses standing.”

    Read also: Gang members kill student, injure octogenarian, others in Adamawa

    The member-elect from the Demsa LGA, Kate Mamuno, corroborated the village head’s account.

    He said: “This is the third time this community has been attacked by this murderous group and yet they go away without being apprehended by the security people. Almost three quarters of the village has been burnt down.”

    The Police Public Relations Officer for the state, Othman Abubakar, said although he had been informed of the attack, he was yet to get the details of it.

    Demsa is a neighbouring LGA to Numan, an LGA about 45 minutes’ drive to the state capital, Yola, where gunmen attacks have been frequent in the last couple of months and years.

  • APP seeks fresh guber poll in Adamawa

    The Adamawa State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Yola has received a petition from the Action People’s Party (APP) over alleged failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to include the logo of the party on the ballot of the last Match 9 governorship election in the state.

    In their petition, the party asked the tribunal to order the conduct of a fresh governorship election for which the candidates of the party will be duly presented to the electorate.

    Counsels to the APP, Barrs. Obed Okwukwe Agu and Oluchukwu Nweke, filed the petition before the tribunal headed by Justice Suleiman Akanbi who promised speedy dispensation of justice.

    The APP became the first party to go to the tribunal to allege non-inclusion of party logo for the Adamawa State governorship election. Parties have until close of Wednesday to file petitions at the tribunal over the governorship election.

    Read Also: Adamawa Election Tribunal begins sitting on 19 petitions

    The Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy (MRDD) had earlier gone to the state high court, while the governorship rerun was yet to be held, to make the allegation and to seek a nullification of the March 9 election. The high court dismissed the case on March 28 for lack of evidence, but it has reportedly been appealed.

    The APP in its petition, is telling the Adamawa Election Petitions Tribunal that the entirety of the Adamawa State Governorship election is invalid by means of substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (As amended).

    ”The election is invalid by means of unlawful exclusion of Mr. Bitrus Madeh as the valid candidate of the petitioner to contest the gubernatorial elections,” the petitioner said, adding that Mr. Bitrus Madeh and Audu Zanda as its validly nominated and /or replaced governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the election were unlawfully excluded.

    They asked the tribunal to declare that the Adamawa State governorship election held on 9th March, 2019 is invalid or voided “for substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.”

  • Group to critics: SGF can’t be distracted from state matters

    A group in Adamawa State has said the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, is currently busy with state matters and should not be distracted, but that he is within his rights to aspire to any position in the land come 2023 if he pleases.

    The position of the pro-SGF group was a response to a claim by some Adamawa politicians that Boss Mustapha was obsessed with political ambition towards 2023, a claim against which the counter-set of prominent Adamawa politicians speaking for Boss Mustapha, argued that the SGF was currently too occupied with important state issues, including functioning as the Chairman of the Presidential Inauguration Committee, and cannot indulge personal political ambitions.

    The pioneer Northeast National Vice Chairman of the APC, Umar Duhu, who anchored the SGF defense group, said, “Mustapha’s focus at this material time is to coordinate the winding up of President Muhammadu Buhari’s first term and to set the tone for the second term.

    “The people accusing Boss Mustapha of plans to forge a joint presidential ticket in 2023 should know they are only jumping the gun for now, and are wasting their time given that he is too busy with stabilizing national affairs.”

    Read Also: Ex-SGF Lawal, brother, others get N50m bail

    Umar Duhu added however that Mustapha was qualified and free to seek the highest office in the land as his critics had suggested, reiterating to journalists in Yola that the SGF stood tall among northern politicians to run or deputise for anybody in line with APC’s power-shift arrangement.

    Taking a swipe at the self-styled ‘Adamawa APC bigwigs’ which questioned Boss Mustapha’s perceived ambition, Umar Duhu said the group was trying to create disharmony within the APC fold, but stressed that it was dangerous for someone to think that some other people were not entitled to certain positions.

    He said Boss Mustapha was a politician of reckon with a long history as he was presented to run along with late M.K.O Abiola by the Babagana Kingibe group in 1993.

    “Mustapha’s intimidating credentials are there. 30 years ago, the Kingibe group within the Social Democratic Party (SDP) actually presented him initially to Abiola for consideration as presidential running mate.

    It is therefore ridiculous for some spent force politicians to think they can cow such a formidable democratic icon into silence,” he asserted.

  • Gang members kill student, injure octogenarian, others in Adamawa

    A notorious gang of youths known in Adamawa State as Shilla Boys, killed a 24-year-old student and injured an octogenarian and some other people in three separate incidents around Jimeta, Yola, during the week.

    In Hospital Road area, the Shilla Boys rounded up on a Computer Science student of the Adamawa State Polytechnic, Emmanuel Hassan, and beat him to death.

    Emmanuel Hassan, who was described as an easy going, hardworking young man who combined studies with work, is a source of grief to his aged father and other relatives now in mourning at their Post Office area residence in Jimeta.

    Emmanuel’s elder sister, Lydia Hassan, who spoke to our correspondent on Friday, said the hoodlums surrounded Emmanuel at a famous joint, Madam State, and began to beat him, and that Emmanuel struggled to climb over a nearby fence to the other side in a bid to escape, but that his attackers shouted ‘barawo, barawo’ in Hausa, meaning ‘thief, thief’, following which a crowd which had gathered, joined the Shilla Boys in giving Emmanuel jungle justice.

    Read Also: Six die in Adamawa highway robbery

    “We were told by those who witnessed the incident that Emmanuel’s terrified exclamations that he was not a thief fell on deaf ears and they punched him to death,” the sister said.

    Lydia said the family was not aware that Emmanuel had any issue that should warrant the ruthlessness of the Shilla Boys, but that she was sure Emmanuel did not have the mind or time to be a thief.

    “Emmanuel was always busy at school or at the Azuri Club where he did part time work as a maintenance electrician. He had no time or need for criminal activities,” she said.

    At the Wauro-jabbe community in the same Jimeta in Yola North LGA, the Shilla Boys abducted a minor, Kumaga Yohanna, and they were on their way to the bush with him when they encountered a team of police and vigilante who rescued him after giving the armed youths a chase.

    At the Bachure area of Jimeta, the Shila Boys stabbed a woman, said to be in her 80s, and has to be admitted into a hospital.

    A source said the boys had earlier carried out a mass attack in a street in Bachure where they injured some people, and that they had been after the old woman’s son, only to go after the woman when they could not get the son.

    The police, who confirmed the incidents, said 16 people had so far been arrested. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Othman Abubakar, said Friday that the police would as usual treat the suspects in accordance to the dictates of the law.

  • Adamawa election petition tribunal begins sitting Monday

    The inaugural sitting of the Election Petitions Tribunal for Adamawa State will hold at the state capital, Yola, on Monday, April 8, 2019.

    This is according to a notice signed by the  Secretary of the tribunal, Godwin Agbo, and obtained by our correspondent on Saturday.

    The notice indicated that the venue of the inaugural tribunal sitting would be at the new High Court Complex in Jimeta, Yola, at 11 am.

    All elections were rounded up in Adamawa State penultimate Thursday, March 28, with the conduct of the supplementary governorship election, which was won by Hon Umaru Finriri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Read Also: Six die in Adamawa highway robbery

    Fintiri’s closest rivals: incumbent Governor Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow who contested for re-election under the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Sen Abdulaziz Nyako who contested under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), have congratulated Fintiri, but Bindow’s APC, which complained of irregularities during the election, may be filing a petition.

    This has been indicated by the state organizing secretary of the party, Ahmed Lawan, who has been quite outspoken about the election from when it was first held on March 9 to just before the March 28 rerun in some polling units.

  • Food shortage hits Fufore IDPs Camp in Adamawa

    No fewer than 1,400 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) including the elderly, women and children from Fufore in Adamawa State are complaining of acute food supply in the camp.

    Malam Bakura Umar, an IDP and leader of IDPs in Fufore Camp, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Yola.

    Umar complained that for the past three months the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had not supplied food to them.

    “About 1,400 IDPs, mostly women, children and elderly people are facing starvation due to acute food supply in Fufore Camp.

    Read Also: Highway robbery claims six in Adamawa

    “For the past three months, NEMA didn’t supply food for us and we are facing serious living conditions.

    “Because of the acute food supply both men and women from the camp had to go out to Fufore town and other nearby villages to look for food in order to survive,” Umar said.

    He said they were in the camp since 2014 and NEMA used to supply food items for them on monthly basis for every household living in the camp.

    The chairman said the IDPs in the camp were from Bama, Gwoza and Gamboru Ngala in Borno state.

    He said they were brought to the camp from Republic of Cameroon after Boko Haram overran their villages and towns in 2013 and they escaped to Cameroon for safety.

    He appealed to appropriate authorities concerned to come to their aid.

    When contacted, Alhaji Abani Garki, the NEMA Operational Officer in charge of Adamawa and Taraba dismissed the starvation claims and described it as “false alarm”.

    Garki told NAN that the agency was aware about the short delay in supply of the food to the camp.

    “The Agency is aware about the short delay of regular monthly food supply to households in Fufore camp but there was nothing like starvation in the camp.

    “In fact the delay was not as they claimed because we experienced a short delay of food supply in January this year due to some logistic challenges which affected the following months of February and March.

    “The Agency is trying all it can to ensure the IDPs are being taking care of properly,” Garki said.

    He said that the Federal Government was taking very good care of the IDPs including children education, healthcare provision and food supply.