The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kano

  • 10 die in Kano auto crash

    The spokesman of the Kano State Fire Service, Alhaji Kassim Musa, on Sunday confirmed that 10 persons died and 20 injured in an accident in Dukundai village in Takai local Government Area.

    He told the News Agency of Nigeria that the accident involved a Toyota bus and J5 bus which caught fire and burnt some of the occupants on Saturday.

    He said the vehicles collided and burst into flames.

    Musa told NAN that the accident was the second in two weeks where 10 people had died on the same road.

    He stated that firemen were called to the rescue operation around 11:35am by villagers, adding that the road had witnessed several fatal accidents in recent time.

    “We have observed that the road has become a terrible place where accidents always happened.

    “Just last week, we recorded 10 deaths on that same road and now this.

    “The drivers on that route are very reckless and we hope to call a round table with other stakeholders to stop this wanton loss of lives.’’

     

  • Killing of health workers outrageous – Ban

    Killing of health workers outrageous – Ban

    The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, on Monday condemned last week killing of 12 health workers in northern Nigeria.

    Nine female health workers were killed by unknown gunmen in Kano last Friday, while three North Korean doctors lost their lives a day later.

    In a statement released late on Monday, the UN chief expressed hope that “such outrageous” attacks do limit access to essential health services by vulnerable people.

    Offering his condolences to the victims’ families, Mr. Ban stated that “those killed were working selflessly to provide basic life-saving interventions to the most vulnerable people.

    He added that “such attacks severely limit health workers access to the populations who need them most and could have devastating effects in the fight to improve the health of people everywhere.”

    He stressed that “acts of outrageous violence” toward health workers around the world are unacceptable.

    Mr. Ban therefore called on all countries to protect health workers so that they can continue to better the health of populations and save lives.

    United States billionaire and Polio Campaign donor in Nigeria, Mr. Bill Gates, had earlier stated that the killings were unacceptable, expressing similar sentiments which the UN scribe has now repeated as well.

     

     

     

  • Gunmen kill female health workers in Kano

    Gunmen on tricycles on Friday killed nine female health workers conducting anti-polio vaccination in a twin attack.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Magaji Majiya, confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria in Kano.

    Majiya said the attack took place around 9am on Friday in Kano metropolis.

    He said: “unknown gunmen riding tricycles carried out the twin attacks at Filin Cashew in Anguwa Uku and Hotoron Hayi Health Centres at the same time.’’

    He said seven of the victims were killed at Hotoro and two others at Anguwa Uku, and the police had deposited their corpses at Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital.

    The spokesman, however, said no arrest was made, but assured that investigation into the incident had commenced in earnest.

    Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Labaran Yusuf, has also confirmed the incident.

    Yusuf said six health workers were attacked at the Anguwa Uku Health Centre.

    According to him, two died on the spot and the remaining four who suffered severe injuries were hospitalised.

     

  • Emir of Kano survives attack, four killed

    Emir of Kano survives attack, four killed

    The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero on Saturday narrowly escaped death  when some gunmen driving in a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) threw an explosive device and immediately opened fire on his convoy in Kano.

     The Emir’s driver and three of his guards were feared dead, while others sustained injuries during the attack.
    Residents said that the incident happened at about 10.30am when the Emir was returning from the launching of an Islamic School at  Masallacin Murtala, along Zoo Road in the Kano metropolis.
    The Emir  was said to be safe and unhurt and had been moved to an undisclosed location.
    Eyewitness account said the attack followed the traditional shots fired by  palace guards  heralding the Emir’s exit from the event. “After the traditional gun shots, we started hearing strange gun shots and people ran for dear lives. It was a terrible experience and the worst on the Emir. We praise Allah that he spared the life of our Royal Father,” an eye witness said.
    Immediately after the incident, the Joint Task Force cordoned off the area, as security has also been intensified in the ancient city of Kano.
    At the time of filing this report, the JTF spokesman in Kano, Capt. Ikedichi Iweha said he was yet to be briefed on the full details of the attack, saying that immediately he gets the full details, he will make an official report of the incident available.
    Kano has come under attacks from the dreaded Islamic terrorist sect, Boko Haram, though it is not known at this time if they are involved in this attack.

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    The driver of the emir was feared dead, including three of his guards who were in the convoy at the time of the attack, with some of them sustaining injuries.
    Residents said that the incident happened at about 10.30am, when the emir was returning from the launching of an Islamic School at  Masallacin Murtala, along Zoo Road in the metropolis.
    It was gathered that the gunmen were said to have ambushed the convoy of the emir immediately his vehicle left the mosque where he has gone for a recitation ceremony of the Holy Qur’an.
    However, the emir was safe and unhurt, as he had been moved to an undisclosed location.
    Sources within the vicinity of the incidence also told this reporter that the gunmen who came on motorbikes on sighting the emir’s vehicle, opened fire which led to the death of the driver and three of the emir’s guards.
    Eyewitness account said the attack came after Palace Guards fired the traditional shots heralding the Emir’s exit from the event.”After the traditional gun shots, we started hearing strange gun shots and People ran for dear lives. It was a terrible experience and the worst on the Emir. We praise Allah that he spared the life of our Royal Father,” according to an eye witness.
    It was also gathered that the emir’s guards who exhibited bravery on sighting the gunmen who had opened fire immediately maneuvered their way to shield the emir, and in the process, three of them were hit by the bullets of their assailant.
    Immediately after the incidence, the Joint Task Force cordoned off the area, as security has also been intensified in the ancient city of Kano following the ugly incidence.
    At the time of filing this report, the JTF spokesman in Kano, Capt. Ikedichi Iweha said he was yet to be briefed on the full details of the attack, saying that immediately he gets the full details, he will make an official report of the incident available.
    Kano has come under attacks from the dreaded Islamic terrorist sect, Boko Haram, though it is not known at this time if they are involved in this later reported incident.
    It could be recalled that barely 24hrs to the January 20th, 2012 attack in Kano by the Boko Haram insurgents, which left over 185 persons dead and properties worth millions of Naira destroyed, the emir’s attack on Saturday 19thJan., 2013 may apparently signal another scenario.

     

  • Gunmen kill two policemen in fresh Kano attack

    Gunmen on Tuesday killed two policemen at Kwana Hudu in Nasarawa Local Government Area of Kano State, barely nine hours after they murdered two and injured another.

    An eye witness told the News Agency of Nigeria in Kano that the incident occurred around 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

    According to the witness, the gunmen attacked a police check-point in the area and killed their victims.

    However, the Public Relations Officer of the state Police command, ASP Magaji Majiya, told NAN that security agencies were trailing the gunmen in the affected areas with a view to apprehending them.

    “What happened at Kwana Hudu in Nasarawa Local Government Area was not an attack, but it was a search carried out by our men, which is yielding positive result,’’ said the spokesman.

     

  • Gunmen kill two policemen in Kano

    … Injure one

    Gunmen again struck in Kano on Tuesday killing two policemen and injuring one at Yan’awaki, Unguwa Uku area of the city, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

    NAN recalls that gunmen also killed two policemen and injured two other civilians on Monday in Kano.

    An eye witness, who wants to remain anonymous, told NAN in Kano on Tuesday that the latest incident happened at about 8:20 am.

    According to the witness, the policemen were in their patrol vehicle when the gunmen laid an ambush on them, killing two of them and injuring one.

    When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state command, Mr. Magaji Majiya, confirmed the incident.

    He said the incident happened at about 8:00 am on Tuesday when the gunmen laid an ambush on the police vehicle at Yan’awaki, Unguwa Uku.

    He said security operatives had cordoned off the area while investigation had also commenced into the matter.

     

  • Unknown gunmen kill four in Kano

    wo unknown gunmen yesterday in Kano shot dead four persons near a mosque on Zoo Road.

    Some Sudanese traders sell locally brewed tea in the area.

    An eyewitness said the incident occurred about 6.45pm.

    It was gathered that the two gunmen, who were riding a motorbike, stormed the area and opened fire on the four persons.

    The victims died on the spot.

    Two of the victims, a source said, were employees of Kano State Road Transport Agency.

    They were said to be on duty at the time of the attack.

    Before men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) arrived on the scene, the gunmen had escaped.

    The JTF cordoned off the area while the residents ran for safety.

    Police spokesman Magaji Musa Majiya, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), confirmed the incident.

    He said investigation has begun to track down the fleeing gunmen.

     

  • Task force seals 42 schools in Kano

    Task Force on private schools in Kano State has sealed off 42 private schools, following their failure to appear before the Task Force and register their schools in accordance with laid down rules and regulations in the state.

    Announcing the closure of the schools to newsmen in Kano over the weekend, Head of the Task Force, Buba Umar, also threatened that more schools who failed to comply with the guidelines on establishing private schools would also be shut between January and February.

    According to him, all the shut schools did not provide a conducive atmosphere for learning for their pupils, which is among the pre-requisite for establishing private schools in the state.

    Besides, Umar called on parents to shun any increment of fees by private schools proprietor in the second term, which commences tomorrow, warning that any proprietor that flouts the order would be sanctioned appropriately.

    Also, Umar accused private school proprietors of exploiting members of the public by charging parents exorbitant fees and disregarded curriculum, as well as failed to upgrade instructional materials and recruit qualified teachers.

     

  • Woman, 40, arrested with 757.5kg of Indian hemp in Kano

    Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kano yesterday arrested a woman, Hajiya Fatima Jimoh, 40, with 75 bags of dry leaves, suspected to be cannabis sativa (Indian hemp).

    The State Commander of the agency, Alhaji Garba Ahmadu, said the exhibits, weighing about 757.5 kilogrammes, were found at two warehouses belonging to the suspect at different locations in the city.

    The NDLEA chief explained that Hajiya Fatima was apprehended at her home in Dandishe, Dala Local Government, with her husband, Folorunso.

    The man reportedly denied knowledge of his wife’s involvement in the illegal business.

    He said: “I do not know she is involved in this kind of business. I am not aware of her involvement in drug trafficking. I just came back from a journey before I was arrested by NDLEA officials.”

    Fatima confessed to dealing in cannabis sativa for a long time and corroborated her husband’s claims.

    She said: “Honestly, my husband is not aware of this business. He is not into it with me. I do not bring it to the house and he has not in any way been involved in it.”

    Ahmadu warned drug peddlers, traffickers and users to leave Kano.

    He said: “We got about 74 bags of cannabis sativa in one of her warehouses used for wholesale; one more bag was found in the second warehouse, apparently used for retail.”

  • NDLEA arrests 125 suspects in Kano

    Between October and November this year, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kano has arrested 125 suspected drug users, abusers and traffickers. The agency has also intercepted 836.862 kilogrammes of Cannabis Sativa and other psychotropic substances.

    88 of the arrested suspects were tried and convicted for being in possession of illicit drugs, while 83 addicts were counselled and freed.

    According to the Kano NDLEA Commander, Alhaji Garba Ahmadu, a large chunk of the intercepted illicit drugs were Cannabis Sativa, which has been in rampant use in Kano in recent times.

    Garba attributed the high rate of drug use in Kano to social factors, including the ever growing population, youth unemployment and Kano’s status as a commercial nerve centre, where people of different shapes in character visit on daily basis.