The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Gunmen

  • Gunmen kill 50 in Kaduna village attack

    About 50 persons including a pastor, four pregnant women, children and a soldier were reportedly killed in gunmen attack on Fadan-Karshi villages of Sanga Local Government of Kaduna State.

    The Nation also gathered that, two other soldiers were seriously injured in the attack and presently receiving treatment at the Gwantu General Hospital among hundreds of other residents, it was gathered.

    The Wednesday’s attack on Sanga villages is in the series of attacks that had rocked the area since April this year, which according to sources had led to the killing of over 300 people, mostly women and children.

    A resident, Mike Sanga told newsmen in Kaduna that, the attackers invaded Fadan Karshi Daji and nearby communities burning houses including a church where several cars were parked.

    According to him, “in our counting, 12 people were killed in Fadan Karshi, 30 in Fada Karshi Daji seven others in another community. A pastor and another person were also killed at Ungwar Ganye.”

    Similarly, Vice Chairman of the Council, Pastor Bulus Mandey Anzah said, pregnant women, elderly and children were killed while hundreds of resident have flee their homes to unknown destinations.

    Anzah, who is standing in for the council chairman, Hon Emmanuel Danzaria, said there were temporary camps set-up for some of the displace and called on the emergency agencies to support them.

    “The attacks are getting worse everyday. Some of the soldiers who attempted to repeal the attack were also injured. Another soldier was killed, ” he said.

    “Many of the injured are now receiving treatment at the Gwantu General hospital,” Anzah added.

    An official of Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) confirmed that over fifty people were killed in the attack.

    The official who didn’t want his name mentioned because he was not authorised to speak with press, said several houses including a church were burnt to ashes. He put the Internally Displaced Persons figure at over 10,000.

    Meanwhile, Centre Initiative for Development and Fundamental Rights Advocacy (CEDRA) described the attack as barbaric.

    The group in a statement issued by Dr. John Danfulani said the assailants annihilated many people, wounded over 40, burned down homes,  and destroyed farmlands.

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  • Gunmen attack Bauchi army camp, kill commander

    Unknown gunmen on Thursday morning attacked an Army camp manned by six armed soldiers at Wunti -Dada, Bauchi State.

    One of the soldiers, a sergeant, who was also the commander of the camp was killed, while one other army personnel was shot on the leg.

    The Nation gathered that one of the attackers was also killed, but others escaped with gun shot wounds.

    The attack occurred at about 5:20am, few minutes after the Muslim first prayer of the day.

    A source told our correspondent, “I was afraid and did not get very close to the camp,but I think some soldiers were wounded in the attack.”

    The spokesman of the Bauchi State Police Command, Haruna Mohammed, referred our correspondent to the Army authorities when he was contacted on the incident.

  • India: Mumbai Jewish centre reopens

    A Jewish centre in the Indian city of Mumbai has reopened, nearly six years after it was stormed by gunmen who attacked the city.

    Six Jews were killed at the centre, which was one of several places targeted in the November 2008 attacks.

    Indian forces regained control of the building after several days and killed two gunmen there.

    The attacks at a railway station, two hotels and other landmarks claimed 166 lives. Nine gunmen were also killed.

    Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, 29, and his pregnant wife Rivkah, 28, who ran the Chabad House Jewish cultural centre, were killed in the attack, but the couple’s two-year-old son, Moshe, survived.

    He was found crying next to their bodies by his Indian nanny, who hid in a cupboard during the attack, but emerged to rescue the child after his parents were killed.

    She later escorted the boy to Israel to care for him. He has extended family there.

    The refurbished cultural centre has a synagogue, offices, guest rooms, a restaurant, a commercial kitchen and security rooms.

    Chintan Sakariya, a local businessman, who witnessed the attack on the centre, said he had “mixed” feelings over its reopening.

    “They’re coming back strongly and we support that. But there’s going to be a lot of inconvenience for local residents, a lot of security, a lot of blockades,” he said.

    abbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivkah who ran the centre were killed in the attack

    Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, a prominent member of the orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement who helped to rebuild the centre, said its reopening would be “really a message for the whole world”.

    In 2012, India executed Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, the sole surviving gunman from the 2008 attacks.

    Qasab was part of a heavily armed and well-drilled, 10-member militant unit which arrived in Mumbai by sea on 26 November 2008.

    The men split into groups to attack various targets. Their assault on the Taj Mahal Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel and the Jewish centre went on for more than two days.

    Pakistan-based banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba was blamed for the attacks, which soured India-Pakistan ties.

  • Gunmen steal 25 rifles from police station

    Gunmen steal 25 rifles from police station

    Gunmen have stolen 25 rifles from a police station in Onna Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

    It was learnt that the hoodlums attacked 12 policemen on duty and stole the weapons from the armoury.

    A source in Onna, who did not want to be named, said: “I was sleeping when I was woken up by a loud noise, which lasted for almost an hour. It was in the morning that we learnt that armed robbers invaded the police station and stole 25 rifles.”

    It was learnt that 11 of the 12 policemen on duty had been taken to Abuja for interrogation. The 12th policeman, a driver, was exempted because he is not qualified to hold a gun.

    Another source, who pleaded for anonymity, said the divisional police officer, a woman, had been demoted and transferred.

    Deputy Commissioner of Police Posi Ajuwa, who has been overseeing the command since the Commissioner, Umar Gwadabe, retired, could not be reached for comments.

    However, police spokesman Etim Dickson said no station was attacked.

    He said: “It is false. Disregard it. No rifle was stolen by anybody. I am not aware of what you are talking about.”

     

  • Residents panic as gunmen kill policeman in Kaduna

    Residents of  Makarfi road in Rigasa, a suburb of Kaduna metropolis, were last night thrown into confusion when suspected gunmen shot dead a policeman .

    The Nation gathered that the incident, which occurred few minutes after 8 pm, sent residents scampering for safety when they heard the gunshots.

    According to sources in the area, the policeman was shot by the gunmen who trailed him to his house.

    A source said: “Nobody knows who they were or where they came from. Only gunshots were heard and when we checked, we saw the policeman in a pool of his own blood.”

    Police spokesman Aminu Lawan  confirmed the incident.

  • Gunmen kidnap four in Bayelsa

    Gunmen kidnap four in Bayelsa

    •Maritime workers threaten to go on strike

    Four workers of construction giant Setraco have been kidnapped in the creeks of Nembe, Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    Caleb Agene, Otuke Magic Kingdom, Gabriel Oghene and Godwin Odukpong were working on the multi-million naira Ogbia-Nembe road around 9pm on Saturday when they were abducted by gunmen.

    The incident occurred a few days after the state government set up an 11-man security task force, headed by a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Ebikabowei Victor-Ben.

    A security source said: “The dredging workers were reportedly seized and whisked away from their dredging base by armed men, who came in a speedboat.”

    The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Bayelsa State chapter, has threatened to go on an indefinite strike, if the government fails to protect its members from attacks by pirates.

    MWUN Chairman Lloyd Sese said: “Insecurity on the waterways has been our problem over the years. Sea piracy has increased this year. The creeks and the rivers have become a no-go area for meaningful businesses.

    “Unlike the roads that armed robbers will operate under fear that security agencies may catch up with them and run away, pirates rob for many hours unhindered on the waterways.

    “Our boats are stolen, drivers are killed and women are raped on a daily basis. We are tired. There is no day we are not attacked.”

    On the task force set up to curb insecurity on the waterways, Sese said: “You are asking people living in Abuja, who built mansions there and know nothing about the waterways, to come and secure the waterways. How can it work? We will withdraw our services to stop wasting the lives of innocent citizens. The former militants were appointed into the task force without maritime union officials.

    “These are the same people who have boys doing one thing or the other on the waterways and you want their boss to call them to order. It won’t work.”

  • Gunmen kidnap four dredging workers in Bayelsa

    Four dredging workers of a construction giant, Setraco, have been kidnapped.

    They were reportedly abducted at the creeks of Nembe in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    It was gathered that the victims were whisked away at about 9pm on Saturday by the gunmen.

    They were said to working on the multi-million Naira Ogbia-Nembe road project when the gunmen struck.

    The kidnapped workers were identified as Caleb Agene, Otuke Magic Kingdom, Gabriel Oghene and Godwin Odukpong.

    The incident occurred few days after the State Government set up an 11-man security task force headed by a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Ebikabowei Victor-Ben.

    A security source said: “The dredging workers were reportedly seized and whisked away from their dredging base by the armed men who came in a speedboat”.

  • Gunmen killed 14 in Plateau attack

    Gunmen killed 14 in Plateau attack

    • 230 cattle stolen

    •Police claim only seven killed

    Gunmen killed 14 persons yesterday night in an attack on two villages in Plateau State.

    The two villages are Jala in Fobur, Jos East Local Government Area and Yelwa-Shendam in Shendam Local Government Area.

    Police spokesman Abu Emmanuel, who confirmed the attack, said the gunmen stormed  Jala village by 9pm on Sunday, and attacked Yelwa-Dhendam at 10:30 pm.

    He said: “The gunmen attacked a shop and killed two persons before robbing the shop. There was a distress call from residents and the police responded to forestall more damage to lives and properties.

    “The gunmen fled when they noticed the arrival of the police.

    Emmanuel said in the Shendam attack, armed cattle rustlers killed five persons.

    “A number of armed policemen were drafted to the scene to restore normalcy”.

    But eyewitnesses said 12 persons were killed at Shendam. They said the cattle rustlers stole 230 cattle.

    A resident, Usman Kawu said: “The gunmen came around 10 pm and shot sporadically to scare people. They killed 12 people and set about 17 houses ablaze’’.

    The police said no arrest had been made.

     

     

     

  • Gunmen kill eight in Port Harcourt

    Gunmen kill eight in Port Harcourt

    Suspected gunmen have killed eight people in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    The attacks occurred a few days after suspected cult members killed 15 persons at Egi communities in Ogba/Egbema Ndoni Local Government.

    Three persons were also killed in Khana Local Government. One of the cult members in the council was beaded and the head was taken away.

    A source said the gunmen opened fire at two drinking joints on the ever-busy Aggrey Road in the old Port Harcourt Township, popularly called Town.

    It was learnt that the hoodlums first stormed a popular drinking joint- Love Garden, where they killed four persons, including a middle-aged woman, on Monday night, while the other four people were shot dead at Bimo Bar, the same night.

    The source said many people, including passersby, were hit by stray bullets, while others sustained injuries while scampering for safety.

    They were being treated in hospitals in Port Harcourt at press time.

    Policemen from the Rivers Command reportedly moved the bodies to the morgue of an undisclosed hospital in Port Harcourt.

    The deputy police spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, said the shootings involved two rival cult groups, adding that the command had begun investigations.

    Police Commissioner Tunde Ogunsakin warned criminals to desist or face the wrath of the law.

  • Suspected gunmen abduct Bayelsa Speaker’s brother

    Suspected gunmen have kidnapped Iniokpoemi, the younger brother to the Bayelsa State House of Assembly Speaker Kombowei Benson.

    He was abducted about 3am yesterday.

    The incident occurred a few days after Florentina, the nonagenarian mother of Senator Emmanuel Paulker and Pa Benson Adigio-Eseni, the octogenarian uncle to the former Governor Timipre Sylva were kidnapped.

    The police and other security agents were still making efforts to rescue Adigio-Eseni and Paulker when the abductors of Benson struck at Korokorosei in Southern Ijaw Local Government.

    The hoodlums were said to have shot in the air before whisking away Benson, the immediate past chairman of the Community Development Association (CDA) in the area.

    The Speaker’s younger brother is the second victim of abduction in the Benson extended family.

    His 86-year-old mother-in-law, Ogboru Orumo Dark, popularly called Obololo, was in March kidnapped about 1am from her home in Seibiri compound in the same community.

    A source, who preferred anonymity, said the gunmen created panic through their gunshots.

    “They came on a speedboat, bundled him and ferried him away through the waterways. They must have taken him to the creeks,” the source said.

    Police Commissioner Hilary Opara confirmed the incident.

    He said: “We have got information on the incident. The District Police Officer (DPO) and the Assistant Commissioner of Police have briefed me. The good thing is that we know the direction the hoodlums took. So, we will arrest them and rescue the victim.”

    Opara said they were also working to rescue Paulker.

    “We have made progress in that incident. We arrested one of them within hours and the next day we apprehended three more suspects, who are helping us in our investigation.”