The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Gunmen

  • Gunmen kill traditional ruler in Southern Kaduna

    Gunmen kill traditional ruler in Southern Kaduna

    Unknown gunmen on Friday night attacked and killed the District Head of Zangang in Atakar Chiefdom of Kaura Local Government Area  of Kaduna State, Mr. Yohanna Daniel Shinkut.

    This was less than 24 hours after 15 residents of Ambe-Madaki village in Sanga local government area of the state were murdered by bandits.

    A resident, Emmanuel Samuel, said the gunmen ambushed Mr. Shinkut on his way back home from Manchock.

    “The incident happened around 8:00pm Friday when the attackers fired at his car. The car got damaged and they went and shot him on the chest,” he said.

    One of the daughters of the late district head confirmed the killing of her father by telephone. “Yes, it’s true. He was shot dead,” she said.

    A community leader, Enock Zangang, who also confirmed the incident, described it as unfortunate.

    He said the District Head’s body has been deposited at the Rural Community Hospital, Manchok.

    “What is happening here since April 2013 is a war and total attempt to wipe out our people. This is worrisome. People are being killed. More than 600 people have been killed in this chiefdom alone. Something has to be done quickly,” Enock added.

  • Gunmen abduct UNIOSUN ASUU Chairman’s wife

    Unidentified gunmen have abducted the wife of the Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Osun State University (UNIOSUN) chapter, Dr. Oluseye Abiona.

    The gunmen were said to have double-crossed the victim, Funmilayo on Friday evening while driving home from her shop near the university junction at Oke-Baale area of Osogbo in an unmarked ash colour Toyota Lexus ES 330 salon car.

    She was said to have been whisked away in her abductors’ vehicles after struggling  with them for some minutes.‎

    Eye witness accounts revealed that the gunmen smashed the rear wind screen of her vehicle in anger, dragged her into their vehicle and drove her away leaving her two children in the car.

    The detectives from the State Police Command were immediately contacted and on arrival at the scene, rescued the two children in her car while another detachment was on trail of the suspects.‎

    The State Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Folasade Odoro, who confirmed the incident, said the state Police Commissioner, ‎Alhaji Abubakar Marafa had directed the detectives to ensure that they rescue the victim unhurt.

  • Gunmen kill community leader in Edo

    A community head in Edo State was on Saturday night killed by gunmen who invaded his residence at Ugbowo area of Benin City.

    The deceased, Mr John Asemota was the Odionwere (clan Head) of Power-line community at Ugbowo.

    The seven gunmen were said to have attacked the late Asemota’s residence at about 9:30pm during which they shot him in the head and back.

    The deceased son, Mr Osemudiamen Asemota who narrated the incident to journalists also said three of his father’s tenants were also shot.

    He said while his father died at the spot, his tenants were rushed to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) where they are presently receiving treatment.

    Osemudiamen said the incident was reported at the Ogbowo Divisional Police headquarters with the Police responding promptly by coming to the scene shortly after the incident occurred.

    According to him, “It was the police that took my father’s body to the mortuary, while they also rushed those shot to hospital for medical attention.”

    He however ruled out possibility of robbery, alleging that his father was killed over community matter.

    Police officers at Ugbowo Divisional Police Headquarters confirmed the incident but refused to comment on it.

    Though he pleaded anonymity, one of the officer who was drafted to the scene of the incident, said the matter would be handled appropriately.

  • Several killed as gunmen attack Gombe

    Several people were reportedly killed on Thursday when gunmen suspected to members of the Boko Haram sect attacked Bajoga town in Funakaye local government area of Gombe State.

    An eyewitness said the gunmen invaded Bajoga between 5 and 6am while Muslim worshippers were concluding their usual early morning prayers.

    They reportedly entered the town in a number of Toyota Hilux vans and started shooting on arrival, forcing residents to either remain indoors or flee into the bush for their lives.

    The Divisional Police Headquarters and Police Area Command at Bajoga as well as one of the banks were attacked and destroyed.

    Our correspondent gathered that security agents engaged them in a gun battle for about three hours before eventually repelling them.

    The assailants were said to have retracted and headed for Ashaka, another town in Funakaye local government which they equally attacked on October 30 and injured a policeman in the process.

    The Gombe State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Fwaje Atajiri (DSP), said normalcy had been restored in the affected areas.

  • Unknown gunmen kill Kogi varsity lecturer

    A lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics of the Kogi State University (KSU) in Anyigba, Dr Justice Olurotimi Otitolaiye, has been killed by unknown gunmen. He was killed three days to the defence of his professorial thesis before the Senate. The deceased was said to have been abducted by the gunmen while running an errand for his family.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the lecturer was abducted at 9pm on Friday around the campus. A colleague of the slain lecturer, who did not want his name in print, described the late Otitolaiye as a man who never “bore no grudge against anyone”, saying he maintained cordial relations with everyone, including students.

    Reacting to the incident, the Dean, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Prof Charles Oyewole, said the late Dr Otitolaiye was  lively and loved by all. He wondered who could have killed Dr Otitolaiye.

    Oyewole said: “Dr Otitolaiye was friendly. Everyone that had contact with him can testify to this. Every student and staff of the university was his friend. He had a nickname for everyone in the faculty and they had nicknames for him too.”

    A top member of management, who was among those that retrieved the lecturer’s remains, told CAMPUSLIFE that the body was found at Ejule, a neighbouring community, following a tip-off by residents.

    A lecturer said the late Otitolaiye’s wife informed his colleagues when her husband did not return home on time. It was learnt that the slain lecturer left his residence at 3pm and was seen in company of his friends drinking at a restaurant close to the campus.

    CAMPUSLIFE learnt that the deceased left the restaurant to pick up a bag of Semovita for his family. This was when his assailants came and reportedly bundled him into their vehicle.

    A source said: “Dr Otitolaiye’s car was seen across the road by one of his friends with the front door left ajar. So, when the friend came down from his own vehicle to try to find out what was going on, he found the car empty. He called Otitilaiye’s phone and learnt it was off. He then raised the alarm as to a possible case of kidnap.”

    Stella Madu, a student of Agricultural Economics, fought back tears when she learnt about the death of her lecturer. She said: “Dr Otitolaiye was like a father to many of us.”

    Meanwhile, the management of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences has paid a condolence visit to the family of the slain lecturer.

    The late Otitolaye is survived by a wife and three children.

  • Gunmen kill mobile policeman, passenger in Bayelsa

    Gunmen in separate incidents, killed a mobile policeman and a boat passenger in Bayelsa State.

    The Nation gathered that the mobile policeman was killed along the Akenpai 1 area of the state capital by unidentified gunmen who also stole his service rifle.

    The mobile policeman who was shot dead at about 7am on Monday at his duty post was identified as a corporal.

    Residents of Akenpai said the deceased, who hails from the Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state, was shot at close range.

    An eyewitness who identified herself as Comfort said the gunmen laid ambush for their victim and caught him off guard.

    “He was shot from behind,” she said.

    The acting Public Relations Officer, Mr. Lawrence Eboka, confirmed the incident.

    He said; “The deceased was shot dead and his rifle carted away. We are making all efforts to apprehend the killers and recover the stolen weapon.”

    In another development, gunmen numbering five suspected to be pirates shot dead a passenger in an attack on a passenger boat last Sunday along the Akassa-Yenagoa waterway.

    The bandits, the Nation gathered, who were on masks, also stole other valuables including money, handsets and the fuel line of the boat.

    The boat driver was said to have escaped with gunshot wounds.

    The boat, it was learnt, plies between Bekekiri, a settlement in Akassa axis of Brass Local Government Area, and the Swali Ultra-Modern Market in Yenagoa, the state capital.

    “The corpse of the victim has since been handed over to the Marine Police in Yenagoa. The boat owner is also receiving treatment in Yenagoa,” a source said.

    A security officer attached to a police station in the area, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident, saying that the pirates invaded the boat at about 9am on Sunday.

  • Gunmen snatch senator’s car

    Chairman of the Senate Committee on States and Local Governments Kabir Gaya (Kano South) was on Friday attacked by four gunmen dressed in military uniform.

    Gaya’s Special Assistant, Idris Afegnua, in a statement, said the senator was attacked on the Kaduna/Kano high way around 7:30 pm.

    The hoodlums snatched the senator’s official car, a Prado Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) numbered FL 16 SEN, but left him unhurt.

    The incident has been reported to the police.

    Gaya is a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

  • Gunmen kill two in Yenagoa cult attacks

    Gunmen suspected to be cultists have shot dead two persons in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, in two incidents.

    In the first attack, it was learnt that an unidentified man was shot several times at Kpansia, opposite Nikton Street, on the Yenagoa-Mbiama Road.

    The shooting occurred in the afternoon and was said to have caused panic among the residents, who scampered for safety.

    An eyewitness said the victim, who is suspected to be a member of a rival cult group, was trailed to Kpansia, from where he boarded a commercial tricycle.

    On sighting him, the gunmen reportedly alighted from the tricycle and followed their target to where they beat him up.

    “They wanted to kill him with the cutlass. But when they raised the cutlass, the man held it. Despite the deep cut on his palm, he fought his attackers.

    “They kept struggling until he ran away. They held his shirt, but he pulled the shirt and took off. It was at this point that they shot him. They shot him many times and later left thinking that he was dead.

    He said sympathisers, who arrived on the scene when the gunmen left, refused to go near to the victim.

    “It was one woman who kept holding him in the pool of his blood. But later, a team of policemen came and took him away in a van,” he said.

    In the second incident, the gunmen were said to have invaded the state government-owned low cost housing estate, Azikoro Estate, in the afternoon.

    The gunmen reportedly shot their victim, identified as Paulo, at 3.30pm in front of his family’s home.

    The assailants were said to have shot him twice, returned later to confirm if he was dead, and shot him again.

    An eyewitness, who spoke in confidence, said: “The killers came in a Honda Accord car and shot the man at close range. They shot into the air to scare away the residents. But they returned and shot the struggling victim again. It may be to confirm if he was dead.”

    Police spokesman, Rowland Eboka, confirmed the incidents.

    But he said the victim of the Kpansia shooting was responding to treatment.

  • Gunmen kidnap tugboat’s captain after attack

    Gunmen kidnap tugboat’s captain after attack

    A tugboat belonging to the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) has been attacked in the Bayelsa State waterways by gunmen suspected to be pirates.

    It was learnt that the tugboat was conveying unknown items to the Agip Brass Terminal in Brass Local Government Area last Saturday, when it came under attack about 10am.

    Its captain, identified as Famous Abrakata, was reportedly kidnapped and whisked away to an unknown place by the hoodlums.

    The bandits were said to have stormed the tugboat, which was coming from Onne in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, at an area called Juju Fish Town on Nembe-Brass waterways.

    A security source, who pleaded anonymity, said the bandits dispossessed their victims of their valuables, including cash worth N150,000.

    The incident occurred a day after pirates during a separate occurrence killed four policemen and abducted six other persons along the same Nembe-Brass route.

    But it was learnt yesterday that the gunmen were after the policemen’s weapons and uniforms.

    It was gathered that the gunmen believed to be pirates were not bothered about the barge owned by NAOC, which was being escorted by the policemen at the time of the incident.

    The body of the victims were said to have been recovered and taken to the office of Marine Police in Yenagoa.

  • Gunmen attack police station in Ajaokuta

    Gunmen attacked Adogo Police Station in Ajaokuta Local Government Area of Kogi State on Sunday night.

     

    The hoodlums attacked the station around 8:30pm and tried to break into the armory.

    They bombed parts of the station, causing a fire, which was still raging yesterday morning.

    Police spokesman Elvis Aguebor said the gunmen were repelled by policemen.

    He urged the public to report anybody with bullet wounds to security agents.

    Aguebor said: “About 2100 hrs on Sunday, unknown gunmen attacked Adaogo Police Station in Ajaokuta Local Government Area of Kogi State, apparently desirous of carting away police arms. The policemen on duty swiftly took position and returned fire. The heavy dynamite launched by the attackers demolished and set fire on a part of the station.

    “The desire of the hoodlums to cart away arms was aborted, as the police successfully evacuated the arms from the station to safety. As at the time of this report, no human casualty was recorded on the part of the police. Some of the hoodlums escaped with bullet wounds.”