The Bishop of Bauchi Catholic Diocese, Most Rev John Goltok, is dead.
He died last Saturday at Our Lady of Apostle’s Hospital, Jos after a brief illness. He was 50.
A statement by Fr. Justine John Dyikuk on behalf of the Director of Communications, Bauchi Diocese, said: “There will be vigil mass today at 6pm at St John’s Cathedral, Bauchi. Tomorrow there will be funeral mass at 10am at St. John’s Cathedral, Bauchi.”
An All Progressives Congress (APC) Bauchi State House of Assembly candidate for Ganjuwa West Constituency, Yusuf Inuwa Dadiye, has been kidnapped.
Dadiye, an engineer, was kidnapped last night by suspected gunmen on his way to Miya from Bauchi, the state capital.
Police Area Commander Mr. Bassey confirmed the incident.
He said investigation had begun, but could not give details on the kidnap.
The driver of the kidnapped politician, Danliti Amadu Rungo, said: “The abductors drove in a black 406 Peugeot saloon car and forced us to stop at gunpoint.
“The kidnappers dragged the candidate out of the car and took him away.”
The Nation learnt that the abductors have not established a contact with the victim’s family.
The politician’s family and supporters have called for prayers.
They urged security agents to embark on a search to rescue the victim.
APC spokesman Auwal Jallam confirmed the kidnap, saying “we have lodged a complaint with the police. We are awaiting their response.
“We are ready to support security operatives in their efforts to rescue our party’s candidate. We are also carrying out our investigation.
“We are not ruling out mischief in this kidnap. This is because our candidate is a promising politician, who is loved by the people.”
Efforts to speak with police spokesman Haruna Mohammed were unsuccessful. He did not respond to calls and text messages.
Danliti is the second APC candidate to be kidnapped. The first was Samaila Darazo, who was abducted last year from his home at Darazo in Darazo Local Government.
There was a low turn-out of registered voters at the various polling stations in Bauchi State during the test-running of Smart Card Readers that would be used during the general elections by the Independent national electoral commission (INEC).
At the Jama’re B Registration Area, Jamare’re Local Government Area, which comprises of 14 polling units, the exercise took place between 8am and 1pm.,
Our correspondent visited polling units in Horare , Yola, Jeyogel, Digiza Kofar Jauro, Azizi Primay School and Jabbori. People were reluctant to come out for the exercise.
In Jeyogel, the total number of registered voters was 405, but only 109 turned out for the accreditation, out of which 83 voters finger prints were successfully captured while 26 failed the verification exercise.
As at 11.30am, the average battery strength of the card reader devices at the various polling units was 78 percent, which meant that the device could function for more than eight hours or more.
Yola Polling unit had 650 registered voters. But, only 104 turned out for the exercise. The number of captured finger prints at the polling unit was 81 while 23 failed the verification.,
The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Professor Hamman Tukur Sa’ad, said that the card-reader devices were working as expected, adding that the turn-out was low because the people were aware that the exercise was not the main election.
He said there were 14 polling units in the registration area and the commission deployed 30 card-readers. He said there was no reason to use the spare devices in case of failure.,
The commissioner explained that the aim of the exercise was to test the efficiency of the card-readers on the PVCs. He expressed optimism that the general elections will be successful.
Sa’ad said the only challenge was the low turn out, which, he maintained was due the feeling that it was a mock exercise.
The Bauchi INEC conducted a Mock Election Exercise by the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) on Saturday in 12 states of the federation, with Bauchi state among the listed states, Bauchi State recorded a low turn-out of registered voters at the various polling stations.,
•The Exercise which held in Jama’re B registration Area of Jamare’re local government in the state, comprised of 14 polling units and started around 8am, ended at 1.pm.,
When Daily times visited * some of the polling units which include :Horare Polling unit , Yola Polling unit, Jeyogel polling unit, Digiza Kofar Jauro polling unit,Azizi Primay School Polling station and Jabbori polling station, which shows that the turn-out was low as people were still reluctant to come out because it was a mock exercise.,
•In Jeyogel polling station, the total number of registered voters was 405, but only 109 turned out for the accreditation, out of which 83 voters finger prints were successfully captured while 26 failed the verification exercise.,
•As at 11.30am, the average battery strength of the card reader devices at the various polling units was 78 percent, which shows that the device could function for more than eight hours or more.,
•Yola Polling unit had a total number of 650 registered voters, but only 104 turned out for the exercise. The number of captured finger prints at the polling unit was 81 while 23 failed the verification.,
•Reacting to the development, the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Professor Hamman Tukur Sa’ad said that the card-reader devices were working as expected, adding that the turn-out was low because the people were aware that the exercise was not the main election.,
•He said that there were 14 polling units in the registration area and the Commission deployed 30 card-reader devices, adding that so far there was no reason to use the spare devices in case of failure.,
•The Commissioner explained that the aim of the exercise was to test the efficiency of the Card-readers on the Permanent Voter Cards and expressed Optimism that the conduct of the forth-coming election will be a success.,
•The State INEC boss said that the only challenge of the exercise was convincing people to come out of their houses and partake in the exercise.
The Bank of Agriculture (BOA) on Monday said that it had disbursed more than N1.5 billion loan to 8,494 farmers in Bauchi State from 2001 to date.
Malam Aliyu Maman, Head of Loans Department at BOA, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi.
Maman said that more than N1 billion was disbursed as micro loans to 7,952 clients, N16.68 million short-term loans to nine clients and N1.81 million medium-term loans to 86 clients.
He said that N250 million was also disbursed under the bank’s on-lending programme to Bauchi State Co-operative Financing Agency, and N49 million to 446 other clients, in collaboration with third parties.
The official said the loans were disbursed through the bank’s outlets in Bauchi, Dass, Azare, Jama’are and Shira Local Government areas, to enhance the development of agriculture in the state and the country at large.
According to him, the bank has developed new programmes tagged Youth Agribusiness Revolution in Nigeria (YARN) to cater for vulnerable youths, and Grow and Earn More (GEM) for women.
Maman further added that under the programmes, a maximum of N1 million could be accessed per individual or group without providing any collateral.
According to him, all that would be required from the beneficiaries are two reliable guarantors.
“One million naira is a quantum of loan that requires collateral, but these are special loans designed specifically for vulnerable youths and women who may not be able to provide any collateral.
“Therefore, states and local governments can harness the YARN and GEM windows to empower vulnerable youths and women farmers,” Maman noted.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it had distributed more than 1.7 million Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Bauchi State, representing 97 per cent of the over 1.8 million received from Abuja.
This was made known by the commission’s spokesman, Malam Aliyu Abubakar, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Bauchi yesterday.
He said the bulk of the cards that were yet to be collected, were mostly owned by people who had either died or relocated to other states.
Abubakar said few of the cards probably belonged to those who were waiting to collect at the last minute.
A NAN correspondent, who visited the PVC collection centre to monitor last minute rush by registered voters, reports that only few people were at the centre to collect their cards.
An angry crowdat a market in Bauchi yesterday beat up a teenage girl to death after accusing her of being a suicide bomber.
The police and witnesses said she was set ablaze.
A second suspect, also a teenage girl, was arrested at Muda Lawal, the biggest market in Bauchi city.
A spate of suicide bombings has been attributed to Boko Haram Islamic extremist group, which wants to enforce strict Islamic laws across Nigeria.
The group has threatened to disrupt the country’s March 28 presidential and legislative elections, saying democracy is a corrupt Western concept.
In Bauchi, the two girls aroused suspicion by refusing to be searched when they arrived at the gate to the vegetable market, a yam vendor, Mohd Adamu said. “People overpowered one girl and discovered she had two bottles strapped to her body,” he said. “They clubbed her to death, put a tyre doused in fuel over her head and set it on fire,” he added.
“It seems doubtful the girl was actually a bomber, as she did not detonate any explosives when she was attacked,” said Police Deputy Superintendent Mohammad Haruna. He described her as a victim of “mob action carried out by an irate crowd.”
Recently, some girls as young as 10 have been used to carry explosives that detonated in busy markets and bus stations, raising fears that Boko Haram may be using some of its hundreds of kidnap victims in bomb attacks. It’s unclear whether such girls detonate explosions themselves or whether the bombs are controlled remotely.
President Goodluck Jonathan last week condemned the Boko Haram insurgents for choosing soft targets and said the series of bombings were a response to the Nigerian military’s recent success in seizing back scores of towns that had been in the hands of the extremists for months.
A multinational military force, including Nigeria’s neighbours is being formed to stop Boko Haram’s attacks outside Nigeria’s borders.
Some 10,000 people died in Nigeria from Boko Haram’s violence last year, compared to 2,000 in the first four years, according to the United States Council on Foreign Relations. Some 1.5 million people have also been driven from their homes.
A teenage girl suspected to be suicide bomber was on Sunday killed and the body set ablaze in Bauchi state by angered crowd.
The victim aroused suspicion by refusing to be searched when she arrived at the gate to the vegetable market, according to a yam vendor, Moh’d Adamu.
The people overpowered her and discovered she had two bottles strapped to her body, Adamu narrated noting that she was therefore clubbed to death,.
According to him, the crowd proceeded to put a tyre doused in fuel over her head and set it on fire.
Quoting the police, Yahoo News reports that the second suspect, also a teenage girl, was arrested at Muda Lawal, the biggest market in Bauchi city.
It seems doubtful the girl was actually a bomber as she did not detonate any explosives when she was attacked, said Police Deputy Superintendent Mohammad Haruna. He described her as the victim of “mob action carried out by an irate crowd.”
Registered farmers numbering 400 have benefitted from the wheat value chain initiative of the Federal Government under its Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS).
A Director in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf, spoke in Bauchi.
He explained that each farmer got three bags of fertiliser and improved seeds to enhance their production.
According to him, the cost of the input per farmer in the open market is N16, 600, but each beneficiary paid only N6, 150, while the government paid the balance.
The director said the ministry also gave the farmers technical support with proper monitoring to ensure the attainment of the set goals of the wheat value chain.
He noted that the support was part of the government’s efforts to boost wheat production.
Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda’s media aide Mallam Danlami Takko has said the governor will use his political structure to ensure the success of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
Takko, who is the Deputy Chief Press Secretary to the governor, told reporters in Bauchi, the state capital that Yuguda would “battle fiercely“ in a bid to ensure that the All Progressives Congress (APC) lost votes in the state.
“Mallam Isa Yugua is a force to be reckoned with. We also expect that Malam Isa Yuguda will use his political machinery, use his manoeuvres, and use his tactful strategy in seeing that PDP wins in Bauchi State.
“This i am sure, like any other indigene of Bauchi state that whatever Mallam Yuguda set his mind to do, the man does it with all his might.
“So. with Yuguda as the leader of PDP in Bauchi State, we should expect a fierce battle, “Takko said.
He said Yuguda has established himself as the kingpin and the Godfather of Bauchi politics, adding that he has holds sway to a strong political structure in the state.
“Mallam Yuguda has established himself as the kingpin of Bauchi politics and he has established himself as the Godfather of Bauchi politics.
“He is selling PDP and Mr President in all the nuke and corners of Bauchi State and he does this successfully because he is on the ground.
“Instead of the Abuja-based politicians from the state to adopt such policies, they resort to instigating and sponsoring youths to embarrass Mr President during his Presidential Campain rally in Bauchi. It is really unfortunate, “ he said.
Takko refuted, Senator Bala Mohammed’s claim in Yuguda is an APC agent, describing the allegation as baseless.
“If he has any proof that Yuguda is romancing with the APC he should bring it forward, but as far as the world is concerned, and as far as Mallam Yuguda is concerned, it is the FCT minister that is romancing with APC.