The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kaduna

  • Explosive diffused in Kaduna

    The Police in Kaduna on Friday diffused  an Improvised Explosive Device ( IED) concealed in a computer bag along the busy Junction Road in the heart of the Kaduna metropolis.

    The discovery of the device created anxiety and panic among residents of the area as business premises were hurriedly closed as police cordoned off the area leading to heavy traffic build up.

    While residents of the area panicked, other residents of the metropolis went about their normal business unaware of the development.

    Spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, DSP Aminu Lawan confirmed the incident.

    “This afternoon, some vigilant passersby saw a suspicious carton placed at the Junction road and immediately called the police. Our anti-bomb squad were mobilised to the place and they confirmed that the computer carton was concealing an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

    “The road linking the junctions were condoned off and people nearby were evacuated. The bomb was then safely detonated. There was no injury of any kind. The bomb was not near any worship centre, as some people were insinuating. If anything, it was near the Unity Bank.

    “We want to thank these vigilante residents who called the police and we urge everyone to report any suspicious object, persons or movements.

    “We call on Kaduna residents to go about their business because there is nothing to worry about, ”Lawan stated.

  • Committee meets with Boko Haram suspects

    Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution on security challenges in northern Nigeria on Saturday held a closed door meeting with detained suspected members of the Boko Haram Islamic group and visited victims of the various bomb blast in Kaduna.
    The committee members visited the St. Andrews Protestant Church inside the Jaji military cantonment and Rita’s Catholic Church, Ungwan Yero Kaduna before holding meeting with some of the detained suspects.
    The Committee members did not disclose the details of  the meeting which was attended by senior Police Officers in the state, while Journalists were told to leave the vicinity.
    There was however a mild drama at the headquarters of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) when the Chairman of the Committee, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki led other members of the committee on a visit.
    The Chairman was told that the College Commandant, AVM Effiong Osim cannot receive them because he was at a meeting with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence.
    An angry Chairman who is also the Minister for Special Duties said “I am a minister of the Federal Republic and this is a Presidential Committee. Who is that Permanent Secretary. How could you say the Commandant cannot receive use”.
    The College Commandant and his principal officers, including the Permanent later came out to meet the committee and still angry, the Minister said “how can you say you cannot meet with us because you are holding meeting with a Permanent Secretary? I am a Minister and this is a presidential committee.
    “I have left my job because of this assignment and have not attended council meeting for the past five weeks. Whatever we are doing here takes precedence over any other thing”.
    The commandant who was full of apologies told the Minister that there was a communication breakdown as he never said he cannot meet with the committee because he was attending a meeting saying “we are all here for the security of the nation”.
    After a closed door meeting with the officials of the college, the committee members addressed some of the victims, assuring them that the government was aware of their plight and will not abandon them, but will do everything possible to ensure that they are comfortable.
    The Committee members were conducted round the St Rita’s Catholic Church by the Chairperson of the caretaker committee of the church, Mrs Cecila Michael who told them that four people died from the October 2012 blast that hit the church.
    Speaking with newsmen after the visit, the Minister said they were surprised at the level of destruction, pointing out that they will do everything possible to ensure that a lasting solution was found to the insecurity in the country.
    He said “we have seen the damages that have been inflicted by several act of insurgency against public and private property. We have also met with some victims who have sustained various degree of injuries. We have also seen and interacted with family members of some of the victims across board.
    “This is regrettable, it is unfortunate and needless. People can see clearly from the high powered nature of this committee the cleat intention of government to send a clear message to victims and other people that have been affected directly and indirectly that government cares and will look at ways of assisting them.
    “However, government will not allow this unfortunate state of affairs to continue. That is why the President has offered an olive branch through this committee. So, we are calling on members of the Boko Haram and others aggrieved individuals to come and talk to us with a view to resolving all issues peacefully. I hope that people will realise that government will not sit down and allow itself to be blackmailed,” the Minister stated

  • Plateau, Kaduna councils unite against boundary hill attacks

    Worried by constant attacks on the hills along the boundaries between Plateau and Kaduna states, community leaders in Riyom and Kaura Local Government Areas of both states have begun a partnership to tackle the menace.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the attacks, believed to be carried out by herdsmen, have led to several deaths, destruction of property and torching of several homes in Attakar villages.

    “The partnership with our Plateau neighbours became imperative because the Fulani and other herdsmen in Kaura have said the attackers usually come from Riyom,” Mr Kumai Badu, the Chairman, Kaura Local Government, told NAN yesterday.

    The council chief spoke after a meeting with his Riyom counterpart.

    He said: “The situation gets worse after every attack. So, we must put our heads together to collectively plan an effective end to the problem.”

    Badu, who named the worst hit areas as Zangang, Zilan and Mafang, blamed the violence on “a little misunderstanding on the hill, between farmers and Fulani herdsmen”.

    The council chairman said authorities and communities of both local governments must work together because the victims alleged that their attackers live in Ganawuri, Riyom Local Government, and usually ran back there after hitting them.

    Badu added: “Once we can cooperate, we shall uncover the hideouts of the attackers. This is a good step towards ending the violence.”

     

  • Gunmen kill 11 in Kaduna village attack

    Gunmen on Monday night killed 11 people in Zangang village of Attakar chiefdom in Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Several others were injured.

    This is the second time in less than two months that villages in the chiefdom, which lies on the boundary with Plateau State, have been attacked by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

    Last month, gunmen, suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, attacked three Attakar villages, killing 28 people and occupying the villages for several days.

    The injured have been taken to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), in the Plateau State capital, for treatment. Several others were yesterday said to be missing.

    The gunmen reportedly burnt houses, including the homes of the district head, during the attack that was said to have started on Sunday and continued till Monday. The Kaduna State Government has condemned the attacks. It said measures were being taken to ensure lasting peace in the area.

    The district head of Zangang, Mr Yohanna Daniel, narrowly escaped from the attackers and was initially declared missing.

    He said the attack started on Sunday, adding that the Monday invasion was deadlier, with more casualties.

    The district head alleged that the gunmen, who he identified as Fulani herdsmen, stormed the village in large numbers, shouting “Allah Akbar (Allah is Great)“ and shooting sporadically at residents.

    Daniel said the attackers, who wore black dresses and red bandana, wielded AK 47 rifles, chased the residents about as if they were chickens.

    According to him, security agents deployed to the area were not present when the gunmen arrived and even when they came after the attack, they complained that they were hungry and left soon after.

    He said: “On Saturday, the Fulani herdsmen came to our premises with their cows. One of the boys in the community asked them why they were bringing their cows into our homes. They opened fire on him, but the boy was lucky as the bullet missed him and he escaped.

    “On Sunday, we did not go to church because they attacked us again. Two of our boys were shot and were rushed to the JUTH. We sat down and discussed the incident. We concluded that there was need for us to find a solution to the problem, because the attackers were carrying sophisticated guns.

    “They entered our farms and when we talked to them, they opened fire on us. We felt this would not help us; we thought there is need for us to address the issue.

    “Soldiers from Jos (the Joint Task Force) in Plateau and Kaduna states gave order that we should not use the dane guns we normally use for hunting again. Today, they were armed with AK 47. This is not an assumption; this is what they are using…”

     

  • Northern youths to hold peace rally

    A group of northern youths under the auspices of the All Northern Peoples Union said in Kaduna yesterday that they plan to hold a 5 million youth Peace and Reconciliation rally to drive home the need for peace and unity in the region.

    National President of the group, Dr. Awal Abdullahi Aliyu, told a news conference that the rally, which will hold in Kaduna, will attract about 250,000 women and youth from each of the 19 states of the north and the Federal Capital Territory.

     

  • Senator provides jobs tools in Kaduna

    Senator provides jobs tools in Kaduna

    The expectant beneficiaries came from the eight local government areas which make up Kaduna North Senatorial District. The local government areas include Makarfi, Ikara, Lere, Kudan, Kubau, Sabon Gari, Soba and Zaria.

    Their benefactor, former Kaduna State governor and now Senator, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, did not disappoint them. At his country home in Makarfi, about 20 minutes drive from Zaria, he presented them with various jobs tools.

    The items included 126 portable electricity generators and clippers, 187 milling machines, 274 ploughs, 87 portable generating sets for worship places, 102 irrigation pumping machines, 184 motorcycles, 250 bicycles, 131 sewing machines, 89 welding machines, 30 tricycles, 50 knitting machines, 20 wheelbarrows and 87 amplifiers and speakers for places of worship. In addition, 700 students from the district were also awarded scholarship by the senator.

    Governor Mukthar Ramalan Yero who performed the symbolic presentation, said the former governor has demonstrated true leadership.

    Makarfi, he said, “has once again proved to be a worthy representative that deserves the trust reposed in him by his constituents”.

    Yero said further: “I see the distribution of these items for poverty reduction as a response to our call recently on all well-meaning citizens of Kaduna State to support the state government in providing support for the less privileged in our communities. This action by Senator Makarfi is in line with the resolve of this administration to positively touch the lives of our people, especially unemployed youths and women. I am absolutely sure that there can be no actual development if our youths and women are left behind in penury and hopelessness. Lest we forget, the two groups are critical to our growth and survival as a people”.

    Governor Yero assured the state residents of the government’s resolve to create an environment that is investor-friendly so as to create jobs through private sector participation.

    “The vision of his administration is to evolve a state that boasts a highly skilled manpower capable of independently generating wealth for themselves and for others,” he said.

    Yero said the government, in collaboration with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), is training 6,000 youths in various skills. Upon completion of their training, he said, the government will support them with capital and all necessary assistance to help in establishing their various ventures with the aim of making themselves self-reliant”.

    A total of 1617 beneficiaries in the eight local government areas of Kaduna North senatorial district and 700 students benefited from the gesture.

    According to him, 184 motorcycles, 274 ploughs and 187 milling machines came from the poverty reduction programme of the Federal Government under NAPEP as part of his 2012 constituency project, while the other items were his personal contribution to his people.

    He initiated the scholarship alongside two other people from Makarfi local government before he became a senator, adding that about N7 million will be distributed as scholarship in the 2013/2014 academic year.

    However, the action of the former governor sent the people into wild jubilation as his home where the event took place was besieged.

    Abubakar Yusuf who said he is a commercial driver, told Newsextra that the action of the senator will go a long way in assisting the people of the area.

    He said: “The Senator has really helped us because many of us are finding it difficult to meet our needs because of the economic situation in the country. These things he has provided will really help us in engaging in activities that will improve our living condition. This is a great help and we thank the senator and may God help him. I want to appeal to other political office holders to emulate Senator Makarfi”.

    The view was shared by Adamu Bello, a former Peoples Democratic Party Youth Leader in Nasarawa Doya ward of Makarfi local government. He said: “We are happy with what our former governor and senator has done. We have always known him to be a man who has the interest of the ordinary people at heart.

     

  • Kaduna ACN asks Yero to resign over N7b loan, others

    •Govt: no loan taken

    The Kaduna State branch of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday asked Governor Mukthar Ramalan Yero to resign, if he cannot manage the state’s resources prudently.

    ACN Chairman Mohammed Musa Soba accused the governor of trying to plunge the state into debts by taking about N7 billion loan from the Islamic Development Bank for equipping the yet-to-be-completed a 300-bed hospital his administration is building.

    But Commissioner for Information Saidu Adamu said the governor has not taken any foreign loan.

    The commissioner explained that the process for the Islamic bank’s loan began in 2009 when Vice-President Namadi Sambo was governor of the state. Adamu said it was recently approved by the National Assembly and the National Executive Council (NEC).

    The ACN said it was disturbed by the government’s penchant for foreign loans, adding that these have continued to oil the machinery of corruption by successive administrations in the state.

    The statement reads: “Recently, Kaduna State Governor Yero made a startling disclosure that his administration had secured a loan of $43 million (about N7billion) from Islamic Development Bank for the procurement of beds and other facilities for the yet-to-be-completed Kaduna Specialist Hospital at the yet-to-materialise Millennium City.

     

  • FRSC flags off campaign on safe driving in Kaduna

    FRSC flags off campaign on safe driving in Kaduna

    The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), on Monday flagged off a one-week public awareness campaign on safe driving in Kaduna tagged, `Operation Shield’.

    The campaign was flagged off at the Kakau toll gate on Kaduna-Abuja highway by the Assistant Corps Marshal, Zone 1, Theophilus Charles.

    He stressed that the awareness was to educate motorists on what they needed to do while on the road.

    Charles said motorists who violate traffic regulation would be punished while some of them “would be kept for certain period of time before they are allowed to go”.

    “The essence of operation shield is to achieve zero traffic crash. We don’t want to have any road traffic crash in this period and beyond, that is why we are doing the mobile patrol.’’

    In his remark, the Kaduna State Sector Commander, Mr Olumide Olagunju, said the special patrol was mounted to “drastically reduce the rate of accident along the road”.

    Olagunju said the programme would also educate road users on the dangers of over speeding, overloading and the use of seat belt, adding that pamphlet and handbills would be distributed.

    He identified speeding and over loading as contributing factors to road crashes, adding that speed and over load often led to loss of control by drivers.

    Olagunju also advised drivers on the use of seat belts, saying it reduces the severity of injuries during crashes.

    “If a crash should occur and you are on seat belt, it would reduce the severity of the injury to 50 per cent”, he said, and called on motorists to be safety conscious and to always obey traffic signs.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that handbills on safe driving were issued to drivers, while those who violated traffic regulations were instantly fined

  • Croc’s rule Kaduna

    The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) side, Kaduna United have emerged the champions of the 2013 Kaduna State FA Cup competition.

    The Crocodiles pipped Nigeria National League (NNL) side, Ranchers Bees 1-0 in the final decided at the Kaduna Township Stadium on Saturday to claim the ultimate prize of the annual football fiesta.

    Central striker, Moses Odoh scored the winner in the first minute of the encounter. Both sides will represent the state at the national finals.

    Kaduna United coach, Salleh Tanko-Lato said his wards were not surprised at the slim goal margin as they never believed the encounter will be a cheap one given the rivalry that has existed between both sides.

    “We knew the encounter is a local derby, a leveller anybody can claim the prize. Our target is to win which we’ve achieved not minding the slim goal margin. We’re the state champions again and will be heading to the national finals to make a bold statement once again,” said the former Plateau United player to supersport.com.

    Tanko-Lato said the Crocodiles will be aiming for a repeat of the 2010 feat when hostilities commence at the national finals.

    “The next challenge is to prove our worth at the national finals. Ours is supposed to be a steady progression. This time we’ll aim at stabilising the side first, then take one game at a go and see whether we can win the coveted trophy once again as we did in 2010,” he said.

    Ranchers Bees coach, Julius Jatau Alhassan said his side’s opponents, Kaduna United deserved their victory.

  • A lift for youths through agric

    A lift for youths through agric

    In order to empower Nigerian youths and reduce restiveness in the North, a non-profit group, the Nehemiah Youth Empowerment Initiative (NYEI), has enrolled 50 young people from Kaduna into a three-year farming scheme.

    This is coming at a time when the youths in the country have been frustrated as a result of the unavailability of white-collar jobs, as well as the lack of infrastructures for self-employment.

    NYEI at a media-parley held in Lagos, disclosed that the 50 beneficiaries of the scheme have been provided lands, seedlings, trainings as well as the assurance of a ready market for their product, just as he noted that their only payback is that they must also impact other lives from their communities.

    Chairperson of NYEI, Emilomo Unuigbe, said the organisation is aimed at empowering young adults between 18 and 30 years, to pursue careers based on their God-given talents, hoping that they in turn will be able to replicate same in the society.

    “In light of the recent ongoings in Northern Nigeria, we felt the need to empathise with the Northern youths; as such we agreed that we could reach these young adults through the platform of agriculture. So, we commenced the first phase of the “I am Nigeria” project in October, to reiterate our oneness as Nigerians despite our diversity.

    “300 potential farmers attended the event in Gujeni district in Kaduna, 50 of whom were short-listed based on their ability to display a keen interest in becoming agro-entrepreneurs. The first 25 of these 50 wrote the Leventis Foundation agriculture exams and 13 of them were successful. The NYEI sponsored and enrolled these 13 candidates in the Leventis Agriculture Program.

    “The successful 50 community champions, as we like to call them, will be given parcels of land and equipped with the resources required to farm over the next three years,” she said.

    Unuigbe, who said the group’s maiden event held in July 2011 at the Eko Hotel, disclosed that their next port of call will be the Southeast, where they also intend to initiate a project that will benefit the youths in that region.

    “In April 2012, we partnered with an NGO called Growing Business Foundation (GBF), at the South-South Economic Summit in Asaba, to equip young entrepreneurs with ICT skills in order to have online presence and universal access.

    “NYEI also organized a concert for the young entrepreneurs where celebrities who have excelled in various areas such as music, comedy, fashion, movies and dance, came to inspire these young entrepreneurs. We are not in this for money but for the love of country and to also foster those things that unite us as a nation.”

    Founder NYEI, Tonye Cole, who said the major challenge faced by youths was the acquisition of farmlands, commended Senator Nenadi Usman for her commitment to the initiative, adding that the land given to the beneficiaries was donated by the senator.

    Cole said the group considered agriculture in the North because it is the best way to meaningfully engage a greater number of people.

    His words: “If you want to reach out to a wide range of people, agriculture is the best way to do it because you reach out to a lot of people at the same time.

    “Secondly, one of the common means of livelihood in the north is farming. It is something they do and are used to. Although more of their agriculture is still subsistent, we are working with relevant agencies to introduce large scale commercial farming

    “I chose Kaduna because being a Niger Deltan, I know how we felt when we had unrest in that region. People from other parts of the country felt as though the region was in another country. No one understood the issues raised, neither did they pay attention to the plight of the people. So, when the North started having its own issues, I spoke to some people from the north and realised that there was this feeling of disconnect or abandonment from the rest of the country.

    “The feeling was building up for the rest of Nigeria because people did not care. As far as they are concerned, what is happening in the north is not felt by those outside the region. So, it really bothered me and I started thinking of how to show them that the rest of Nigeria care about them and feel their plight.

    “That was how we came about empowering young people in Kadunu because we believe that aside taking their minds off crime, they will in turn empower others.”